Shillong, June 13: The recent cabinet decision to give 80 per cent reservation to the Scheduled Tribes in the municipality and 33 per cent representation to women has triggered hope for the civic elections in Shillong, pending since 1967.

The state government will lose out on crores of rupees under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) if it does not hold the election.

Chief electoral officer P. Naik today said the election department was ready to hold the first municipal polls after the proper dissemination of facts to the people related to the cabinet decision.

He said the Centre would not release the funds under the second instalment of the JNNURM, if the state government failed to hold the elections soon.

Since 1967, the attempt to hold elections has failed because of opposition from local pressure groups and the village headmen. According to them, the very concept of a municipality will erode the powers and functions of the traditional institutions.

Their argument is that since the provisions of Sixth Schedule are applicable in Meghalaya, the additional bodies like municipality and panjayati raj have no relevance.

There was even a Supreme Court verdict in the past that made it mandatory to hold the elections. After the Supreme Court directed the state government to hold the municipal elections following a petition filed by the Non-Tribal Youths Union, the government in November 2000 issued notifications to hold the elections.

Only one person, a Shillong-based businessman, Ananta Dey, filed nominations. However, suspected HNLC militants shot him dead in November 2000.

The Shillong Municipal Board is not an elected body, but acts as a department of the government.

The cabinet on Thursday took radical steps to amend Section 11(3) of the Meghalaya Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2000, to enable 80 per cent reservation for indigenous communities in the Shillong Municipal Board when the elections are conducted.

Whenever the municipal elections to the 27 seats of the municipal board are held, 22 seats will be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and the rest will be open seats.

Another amendment is the addition of a sub-section (3-A) to the Meghalaya Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2000, whereby 33 per cent of the seats of the commissioners in every municipality will be reserved for women.

The candidates for the nine seatswill be selected from the wards with the highest percentage of women at the time of the elections to the municipality. The term of the municipal board will be for five years.

The chief electoral officer said the relevant portion of the cabinet decision would be posted on the government website on Monday to elicit opinion and suggestions from the people within one month.

Following this, the process of election will start, he added.

Another step the cabinet has taken to improve the municipal administration is the constitution of a ward committee for each municipal ward. In this regard, the cabinet approved the Meghalaya Community Participation Bill, 2010.

According to the proposed bill, each ward committee will comprise five representatives of the traditional institutions to be nominated by the government.

Another five reputed persons, including three women from the local women’s organisations, will be nominated to the ward committee.